Uganda needs an anti-corruption academy
By Editorial Team
6th Sept 2010
On 2nd of September, an anti-corruption academy co-sponsored by the United Nations opened in Austria. The aim of the academy is to fill the rising global need for training, research, techniques, and contemporary measures of fighting corruption.
The International Anti-Corruption Academy [IACA] based in Luxemburg will educate public and private sector anti-corruption practitioners with methods that will enable them to effectively implement the UN Convention against Corruption.
Martin Kreutner, the head of the IACA Transition Team, said “superior training coupled with advanced academic research will give those who need it a significant edge in their work” and “…their know-how will have a trickle-down effect in their countries and help create conditions for change”.
The convention, which came into force in December 2005, is the world’s first legally binding international anti-corruption instrument. It requires signatories to implement a wide range of measures in areas such as law enforcement, asset recovery, and international cooperation.
That is the legal framework. In Uganda today, there is no denying that corruption is at its worst since Uganda as a nation state was born on October 9th 1962. It is an acceptable way of life for many Ugandans today. People of integrity are now an endangered species in our once admired country.
Government efforts to fight corruption have clearly been half-hearted at best. There is a blatant lack of political will to use even the existing mechanisms to fight corruption because it is actually a means by which our top political leaders retain their political offices.
In fact, President Museveni himself is on record arguing that corruption could be a good thing if the thieves invest their ill-gotten wealth into development projects in the country. It therefore goes without saying that Museveni’s government can never be an ally in the fight against corruption in Uganda.
For those reasons, we think civil society organisations have to double their efforts and push for the establishment of an Austrian style anti-corruption academy in Uganda. We have seen that the UN Convention against Corruption is legally binding, and it requires signatories to implement law enforcement, asset recovery, and international cooperation measures. That is a very good start.
We therefore think the benefits of such an academy in our fight against corruption would be invaluable. In fact, we would prefer that potential public/civil servants are first sent [compulsorily] for an intense course at such an academy instead of being sent to Kyankwanzi. We don’t know what really happens at Kyankwanzi. But whatever it is, as a “National Leadership Institute”, it has miserably failed to produce good leaders of integrity. Only corrupt sharks have emerged from there.
In 2007, a joint World Bank and UN Office on Drugs and Crimes [UNODC] report estimated that “the theft of public assets from developing countries is…between $1 trillion and $1.6 trillion per year”. The magnitude of the stolen assets clearly shows the need for concerted action against corruption. END. If it’s Monday, it’s Uganda Correspondent. Never miss out again!
